Anal penetrative sex

This is when a man's penis enters (penetrates) his partner's anus. Some people choose to do this as part of their sex life, and others don't. Men and women can choose to have anal sex whether they're gay or straight.

According to the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, published in 2013, 17% of men and 15.1% of women had anal sex in the past year.

Anal sex has a higher risk of spreading STIs than many other types of sexual activity. This is because the lining of the anus is thin and can easily be damaged, which makes it more vulnerable to infection.

If you have a cold sore and you give your partner oral sex, you can infect them with the herpes virus. Similarly, herpes can pass from the genitals to the mouth.

The risk of passing on or getting HIV during oral sex is lower than anal or vaginal sex without a condom. However, the risk is increased if there are any cuts or sores in or around the mouth, genitals or anus.

You can make oral sex safer by using a condom as it acts as a barrier between the mouth and the penis.

You can use any kind of condom during oral sex. Make sure it has the CE mark or BSI kite mark, which means the condom meets high safety standards.

Fingering

This is when someone inserts one or more fingers into their partner's vagina or anus. It's not common for fingering to spread STIs, but there are still risks.

If there are any cuts or sores on the fingers, no matter how small, the risk of passing on or getting HIV or other blood-borne infections such as hepatitis B or C increases.

Some people gradually insert the whole hand into a partner's vagina or anus, this is called fisting. Not everyone chooses to do this.

Again, the risk of infection is higher if either person has any cuts or broken skin that come into contact with their partner. You can lower the risk by wearing surgical gloves.

Sex toys

This covers a wide range of items, including vibrators and sex dolls. Any object used in sex can be called a sex toy, whether it's designed for this use or not.

It's important to keep sex toys clean. If you're sharing sex toys, make sure you wash them between each use and always use a new condom each time.

Sharing sex toys has risks, including getting and passing on infections such as chlamydia, syphilis and herpes. If there are any cuts or sores around the vagina, anus or penis and there's blood, there's an increased risk of passing on hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

Urine and faeces

Some people choose to urinate on a partner as part of their sex life, and others don't. There's a risk of passing on an infection if the person who's being urinated on has broken skin.

Faeces (poo) carries more of a risk. This is because it contains organisms that can cause illness or infection, for example shigella. This is a bacterial infection of the intestine that causes severe diarrhoea and is often mistaken for food poisoning. It can be caught during oral-anal sex and giving oral sex after anal sex when even a tiny amount of infected poo can get into the mouth and cause infection.

Although faeces doesn't usually contain HIV, it can contain the hepatitis A virus. There's a chance of infection when faeces comes into contact with broken skin, the mouth or the eyes.

Cutting

Cutting the skin – called scarification – as part of sex carries risks. Infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can pass from person to person through broken skin.

No sexual contact is needed. Simply getting blood on a partner is enough to transmit these infections.

To lower the chances of infection, cutting and piercing equipment should be sterilised and not shared.